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No, the regional differences are NOT understated. They are REAL. They are blurring with transplantation, but most of those who don't buy into "when in Rome..." move out. Still, they are VERY REAL. That's why some people love living in one place in the US, and hate living in another, for example.
I think the issue is that America has BECOME homogenized. To you who probably just watched America on TV and didn't come here and actually experience America before it became kind of this corporate suburb, it seems that way.
To us who've grown up here, it wasn't always this way.
Your post is right on.
I remember being in the company of a large group of international students (but mostly English and Scottish) who were lamenting the Americanization of Britain and Europe. They look over at me (what? to apologize?) and I say in dead serious tone, "You don't like the Americanization of Europe? You should have seen the Americanization of America!"
Hmm.. I do see the differences between the regions... but the overall feel of almost everywhere in the US is "American", be it in Seattle or Miami, even though there are differences. I think some Americans overstate those when they claim that the differences between states are at least as big as between countries. That is definitely not true. I've heard someone say "Why should I travel to Europe? Driving from Iowa up to Chicago is like going from Milan to Stockholm."
I've heard someone say "Why should I travel to Europe? Driving from Iowa up to Chicago is like going from Milan to Stockholm."
Well.... that is just a ridiculous statement.
I do agree that I could keep myself fully entertained by traveling in the U.S. my whole life and never visiting Europe. But it's not because Iowa and Illinois have as much culture variation as Milan and Stockholm. That's just a silly thing to say.
When you combine geography, climate, culture, regional differences... I will never, ever, ever get bored traveling the U.S.
I think regional differences absolutely exist. With many, many things in common of course.
But if you take a native Washingtonian, a native Californian (say, socal), a native Mainer, and a native Floridian....you are going to have some very different people and outlooks on life.
As mentioned though, this is changing rapidly due to transplants (See WA for a perfect example).
I've heard someone say "Why should I travel to Europe? Driving from Iowa up to Chicago is like going from Milan to Stockholm."
and I've heard countless Europeans say "Yes I visited America, I went to NYC, Vegas and LA!" which is also ignorant.
People are generally provincial and don't travel enough to know or understand any foreign country, and sometimes even their own. It's nothing worth getting upset or condescending ( " " ) about.
That goes the other way, too. When I lived in TN people I knew spent plenty of time insulting the North East and West Coast. In fact, they practically hated people from those regions. Also, there is plenty of farming in this region. People in this area love to buy from farms in the area, and there are no shortage of local products to choose from.
Of course it goes both ways why shouldnt it?
The policies and attitudes are what we dont respect. Wanting policies that didnt work in France, Spain, Italy, Ca, NY without crushing job creation is an issue, why would we get a different result than those very limited job creation entities?
Yes, regional differences certainly do exist. I'd honestly say, as someone who's grown up in the northern U.S. (mainly New England), although Canadian culture always seems a bit "off" to me, and living in Britain was certainly different, both are a lot less alien to me than Southern culture.
But if you take a native Washingtonian, a native Californian (say, socal), a native Mainer, and a native Floridian....you are going to have some very different people and outlooks on life.
I really don't think they'd be all that different. I bet that all three of them would have their political outlooks largely determined by national - not local - forces. If they belong to political parties, I bet those parties would be either Republican or Democrat, regardless of the state they come from. I bet that when they think about financial planning for the future, they think about national programs like 401(k)s or Social Security/Medicare, or Roth IRAs, or so on. I bet they'd all speak American English. I bet they'd mostly watch TV from the same slate of national TV channels. And so on...
I really don't think they'd be all that different. I bet that all three of them would have their political outlooks largely determined by national - not local - forces. If they belong to political parties, I bet those parties would be either Republican or Democrat, regardless of the state they come from. I bet that when they think about financial planning for the future, they think about national programs like 401(k)s or Social Security/Medicare, or Roth IRAs, or so on. I bet they'd all speak American English. I bet they'd mostly watch TV from the same slate of national TV channels. And so on...
Nobody is saying its impossible for there to be any similarities and why wouldn't there be? They're Americans.
... But come on, even you should know there's a huge spectrum when it comes to whether they're Republicans or Democrats. A Black Southern Democrat will not necessarily hold the same values that a West Coast Democrat would.... just like both will not necessarily hold the same values that a New Englander Democrat would. Just because the end result may be that they vote the same person for the job doesn't mean they're all the same.
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